A Leave of Absense
by Vulcan Lily
Summary: Clint and Natasha take the break Fury promised at the end of the movie. Tony sends them on an expensive vacation. They deal with past events and grow closer than ever. contains spoilers and lots of humor. BLACKEYE
1. Paid Vacation

**So I found Avengers so incredibly epic that I'm taking a break from my Dr Who crossover series to wright fanfiction about it. Yep. I mean, the whole Black Widow/ Hawkeye thing seemed pretty romantically tense to me...okay just let me tell you the whole story of the midnight premier. **

**It was my bestie's 17th birthday, and Avengers came out on her birthday, and she's like in love with Thor. Well she's always teasing me about not crushing on characters in movies(I do by the way, she just doesn't know it) and then when all of us started watching the movie I was all excited to finally see Hawkeye and Black Widow all modernized. Then when I figured out who Hawkeye was, and realized he was "bad" under Loki, I said out loud in the theater "WHAT? Hawkeye's a bad guy? NOOO!" but as the movie went on I was just all "OMG this guy is a total bamf and he and Black Widow are SOOOO perfect together" and plot bunnies started at my friend's house sleepover later when we were all asleep and I now crush over fictional characters and it is known by Stacy. **

**And I don't own nothing. Pretty sure Stan Lee came up with every Marvel character in existence. **

…**...**

A leave of absence. That was what Fury had called it. And it was, except the couldn't be a hundred percent alone when they went on vacation. They had to be with at least one other Avenger, for safety reasons. Thor was excused, considering he was a VIP to the Asgard being a son of Odin and all that. And the fact that he had to take Loki back to the Asgard for his crimes against them.

Bruce was with Tony, and Steve was technically too, he just stayed in Manhattan, residing in an apartment within commuting distance to the Stark tower. That just left Natasha and Clint.

They were all at Tony's place at the moment. Natasha didn't really want to stay in Manhattan, and neither did Clint. But they didn't really want to be stuck with each other for an extended period of time after the whole Loki incident.

"Hey don't you guys want to get outta here? S.H.I.E.L.D. Doesn't give vacations very often you know," Tony said suddenly from the bar, where he was making a round of complicated drinks with help from Jarvis.

Natasha shrugged. "Yeah, I just don't know if Clint wants to go anywhere, since Steve is still trying to fit in with the times, and Bruce feels safest with you in case he snaps. And I don't know where we would go."

"I had the same concerns," Clint said. Natasha could sense he was avoiding saying the real reason out loud. Their new friends didn't need their baggage.

"Well Pepper and I were planning to...um...run away, you could call it, to a nice hotel in Vegas and later a resort in San Diego, considering I almost died, Pepper was feeling needy...OW!" he was interrupted by a blushing Pepper throwing an ice cube from her drink at him. Bruce and Steve chuckled at this.

"Anyway, I have the tickets and reservations all made, when Fury told us to stick together. And I can't just leave Bruce to explode my lab, no offense Bruce, and I don't think Steve would want to come with me on a romantic vacation."

"No I don't Tony." Steve confirmed.

"So what does that mean to us?" Natasha asked.

"I'm gonna give you guys the tickets. I can't refund any of them." Clint snorted slash choked into his water.

"Uh, Tony? You just said it was meant to be a romantic vacation...?" he half-asked pointed out. Natasha was wondering the same thing. Tony just waved them off.

"I'm sure they would be happy to give you another room for the price of the tickets I paid for. But come on, you two have worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. longer than any of us, you need this."

"Fine," sighed Natasha, "but only if Clint agrees."

"I know Tony won't except no for an answer," he replied.

"Great! I'll have Jarvis change the name on the tickets...don't worry I'll still pay for it...just Barton here does NOT look like me."

…...

"Oh come ON Natasha, Tony won't mind me racking up this credit card. Besides, some of the restaurants he reserved are black tie dress code, you'll have to dress formally. Why not look amazing?" Pepper was shopping with Natasha. The two women had become close, mainly because Pepper was the only other female around the Avengers.

"It's just...it would be weird...Clint and I have known each other for so long, whenever I used to wear dresses like that, I usually ended the night by killing someone..."

"Natasha, you're going on a vacation, not a mission. Now I am buying you dresses that make you look stunning, not deadly."

"But that's what makes me deadly, my name is Black Widow, remember?" Natasha said in an undertone, considering they were in a store in the middle of New York. Pepper ignored her and shoved her into a dressing room with a dress. She sighed and complied, and ended up liking the thing. It was a dark forest green gown, that looked like it had been inspired by a Greek tunic. It had one sleeve, like a toga, and left her other shoulder bare. The silky fabric then went down to her feet, still in a Greek style, and while the dress was loose, it was still form fitting on the upper half to show off the wearer's curves.

Pepper nodded. "We'll take it."

…...

"So I'll have Jarvis tap into every airport terminal you go through so you can get all your weapons and whatnot through without mishap," Tony was telling them as they pushed their luggage on a trolley at the airport.

"Thanks,"

"And you might want to use this to pay for your food, since you can't pay for that in advance.." he said, handing Clint a card.

"Ohh now I can afford Grey Poupon on everything. Mind if I get a new bow?" Clint joked. Natasha smacked his arm. "Kay. No new bows. Only stuff we need."

They reached their terminal, where they met up with the rest of the gang to say goodbye. They were all in the middle of farewells, Natasha was hugging Pepper, when Tony spoke up.

"Hey, fight some crime for me. You're superheroes now. I packed you some masks. Have fun doing it. Other than that," he put on his serious voice, "behave yourselves."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I'm only planning to listen to one of those commands Tony." She promptly waved bye one more time and boarded. Clint looked fearfully amused.

"What one do you think she meant?" he asked. Everyone laughed.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Go on get on the plane," Bruce encouraged. Clint shrugged and obeyed.

…...

**I wanted to keep going, but I decided that this should continue into another chapter. Which I promise to have up quickly. And I have yet to decide if I should up the rating...what do you think, audience?**

**OUTRO OF WHITNESS**

**BOOP!**


	2. First Class Memory

**And I started writing this the same night as chapter 1...once plot bunnies enter, I gotta get them outta my nogan. And thanks, TheShow71 for the great review. It people like you that make fanfiction so much fun.**

…**...**

"Geeze, how does Stark still make billions when he doesn't make weapons anymore?" Clint asked as he and Natasha sat down in the luxurious first class seats.

"I don't know. We could find out when we get back. S.H.I.E.L.D. knows everything," she replied. The next few minuets where a bit awkward, just them sitting next to each other while the coach passengers of the plane walked through to their seats. But no one else in first class said anything while the other passengers loaded, so Natasha wasn't that worried.

When they were finally in the air, the flight attendant, a young attractive brunette, came over. After first looking at Clint with a bit of a pleasantly surprised look, she asked very politely if and what they wanted to drink and showed them how to work their TV, and provided them with menus for later. A few minuets later, they where splitting a coke, with Clint surfing Netflix and Natasha surfing the internet on her iPad.

"Hey Clint," she said, nudging him. He paused his movie, _Lord of the Rings, _and removed his headphones.

"What?"

"Did you know that somehow our code names got leaked on the internet? The world now knows the 'two black clad avengers that were on the ground with Captain America' as Black Widow and Hawkeye." she informed him, reading from a Yahoo news post. He raised his eyebrows.

"Well at least they didn't come up with names for us, like Bruce." Natasha looked to see what he was watching.

"Really?" she asked him, grinning despite herself.

"What? I've been wanting to re-watch it ever since Stark called me Legolas. I want a quiver like his, by the way."

She rolled her eyes.

…...

_She was in Russia, during the early spring, so it was still somewhat chilly. Black Widow was wearing a light weight jacket with a fur collar over a knee length black dress, complete with diamond earrings and a black fur cap. Her red hair was long and wavy. _

_She was with her target, the one she had been hired to kill. It didn't matter who he was, she would get close, tonight, get the information she needed from him,and then kill him._

_The dinner was fancy, full of rich snobs and nobodies all dressed in their finest. Her date almost seemed to want to show her off, like an achievement. No matter, let him enjoy the last moments of his life..._

_They were in their private garden of the hotel, and she was about to make her move. She pulled her gun from her thigh holster and demanded the information. Suddenly, an arrow was sticking out of the barrel of her gun. Before she had even processed this, another arrow knocked the weapon from her hands. Her target attempted to flee, but she quickly knocked him unconscious so she might get the info she needed after she dealt with this...archer. _

_Suddenly, a man was there, dropped from the rooftops. He had a drawn bow directly at her._

"_Surrender yourself, Black Widow," he commanded her. She responded by pulling back her jacket sleeves, revealing her Widow's Bite around each wrist, and she threw herself at the archer, making herself a smaller target. _

_She batted the bow and fired a Bite, an electrical shock of 30,000 volts. The archer dodged and smacked her with his bow. As she fell she fired another bite, this time hitting his left foot. He yelled, and she frowned. The voltage had not been high enough. Despite the paralyzed foot, he was still able to move around well enough, and a desperate struggle full of her martial arts, and apparently, his, ensued. _

_They were perfectly matched. He caught her punches and twisted her arm down, only to get his nose cracked by the back of her head. The archer instinctively reached for his nose with one hand, while with the other he took his bow and trapped her between the body and the string of the bow. With this, he pulled her to him, intending for a more fair headbutt that he could win. _

_Feeling only the briefest feeling of panic, she changed tactics. As she rapidly approached his head, she didn't allow him to headbutt her. She moved her head to the side in time, and when he brought his head back up, she looked into this man's blue-gray eyes...and then kissed him. _

_She could feel his sudden shock, and then to her own surprise, he kissed back. This had certainly never happened when she used this tactic. Now she herself was confused. And then she felt something cold on her wrists. He broke the kiss, and smirked at her. _

"_That was nice, but I beat you at your own game, Widow." She looked behind her, at her hands. They where in some kind of high tech handcuffs. She glared at the archer._

"_Who are you and who do you work for?" she spat at him. He regarded her for a moment._

"_You know, I could've killed you when I first shot your gun? Actually, my mission _was_ to kill you. S.H.I.E.L.D. Doesn't like what you've been doing. Or who you where going to kill..." _

_She feared him then. Her life was in his hands. _

"_I could still kill you," he said, drawing his bow string back with an arrow, pointed at her, "but I won't. I see something useful in you, Widow, something S.H.I.E.L.D. needs." _

_She tried not to show her relief when his muscular arms lowered the bow._

"_Some people know me as Hawkeye. Others know me as Agent Barton. And you owe me your life."_

…_..._

Natasha woke with a start, earning a concerned look from Clint. It had just been a flash of memory in a dream...was it now that she had paid her debt? He had always told her to forget about it...she had refused. They had become close friends, nothing more. But she always remembered him kissing back...

…...

Clint was a little worried about Natasha. Ever since the end to all the Loki business, she had been more quite than usual. And while she had been sleeping, she looked anything but peaceful. And her expression when she had woken up, it was the same one she had worn all those nights ago, when she realized he had spared her.

Fury had been furious when Clint showed up with a very much alive Black Widow. But she had cut ties with the Russians and really held no allegiances, so she had joined S.H.E.L.D. easily enough. As punishment, she had be his partner at first. That had been amusing.

He was actually surprised when he had come out from Loki's control and found her willingly working with the Avengers. She had never liked working in large groups. He had heard all of the stories from the others about they had been dragged into it, except for her. Struck by sudden curiosity, he decided to ask.

"So what made you join?" She looked at him sharply, and he shrugged. "You know why I did." he reminded her.

After a long moment, she finally replied.

"I was tied to a chair being interrogated by Russians. One of their phones rang, and Coulson was on it, asking for me. I wouldn't hear a word of it, I was kinda busy. But he told me something that made me get the hell outta there after kicking all of their asses."

"What did he tell you?" Clint was intrigued by the tale. Another pause from her, then,

"He told me that you had been compromised." Natasha seemed to break a little after this, remembering the painful memory of him under Loki. He offered her his hand, feeling mixed emotions. She took it gratefully, and laid her head on his shoulder, welcoming the comfort.

The flight attendant came over, she had seen Natasha sleeping, with the intent to hit on Clint, who sat on the inside of the aisle. When she saw them, however, she started.

"Oh..Um..I'll just leave you alone to yourselves..." she backed away. Clint smirked, and rubbed his thumb over Natasha's hand. She had fallen back asleep.

He remembered when she had kissed him...

…...

**Sooooo...what do you think? I kinda surprised myself with this, it just flew out of my fingers...**

**Reviews? **

**Vulcan Lily OUTRO!**

**BOOP!**


	3. Back in Black

**Hello once again audience... when we left of, there was a little bit of of Blackeye fluff. What is this couple gonna be called? I want a vote between Blackeye, Hawk Widow, Clintasha, Natashint, or just C/N**

**and I'm just putting this up cause everyone else does. I OWN NADDA! I mean, come on, this . NOBODY on this site owns anything, do we really have to say it? It's obvious!**

**And as for spell check, wtf? My computer is like OCD with the red underlines. I DO edit...so SHUSH WITH THE COMPLAINING! It is kindly acknowledged. **

**And the reviews! This is like a new record, last I checked it was what, 23 in around 3 days? It took like half a year for my Doctor Who fic to like 17. WOOT!**

…**...**

"Have you ever been to Vegas?" Natasha asked as they piled into a taxi. They had a surprisingly small amount of luggage, only four large suitcases, plus their carry-on bags. They would have had just two, but they needed their gear.

"A few times, before I worked for Fury," Clint replied, eying the cabbie.

"Can you believe that I've never been here?" she asked, looking out the window at the lights of night time Las Vegas.

"Your work never brought you here? I find that hard to believe," he stated.

"It tended to stay on the east coast, and I have been to California a few times. But never here."

The rest of the ride passed without much event, until they arrived at the hotel.

"I'm here for the reservation under Barton," Clint told the receptionist, who checked his computer.

"Ahh, yes, our presidential honeymoon suite. An excellent choice, sir."

"Yeah about that...we were wondering if you could change that into two separate rooms? You see this vacation was originally planned for two of our friends, and they couldn't make it last second and let us come.."

"And we're not together in that way," Natasha finished for him. The receptionist checked his computer again.

"I am sorry Sir, but we are actually booked with guests and conflicting reservations. We only have your room. It is plenty large enough if you aren't...you know."

"Oh well. I'm sure we will still enjoy ourselves. Thank you," Natasha took the key card from the man and headed for an elevator. Clint hurried to keep up with her.

…...

Clint whistled when they reached the room. It was nice.

"I should ask for a raise," he said dryly. Natasha smiled. It had been a long time since she had stayed in a room this nice. It had been in another life...

They put their bags away, and she was drawn to the window. A magnificent looking swimming pool area was below her. She tried to remember the last time she had gone swimming for fun...it must have been ages ago. Pepper did say the point of this was to unwind, so she decided to go for a swim.

"I'm going swimming," she announced, digging through her clothes, trying to locate her swimsuit. Clint looked up from a pamphlet he was reading.

"Swimming? That sounds fun...mind if I join you?"

"Whatever," she said, finding the plastic bag that Pepper had said her swimsuit was in. She quickly went into the bathroom to change. When she pulled the bikini out of the bag, however, she groaned.

"Uhh Pepper..." While she and Pepper had both agreed that black was her color, this was a bit much. But it was the only swimsuit she had...so she put on.

It had a strapless black top with a red plastic circle in the middle, like a big red O. The bottoms were also black, with similar red circles on either side. She also had a tattoo, from her past life, on her lower back, of a tiny black widow spider that accidentally went well with the outfit. Natasha cringed. She had always been careful to wear swimwear that concealed the tat on missions that had required getting in water. Not even Clint, her closest friend at S.H.I.E.L.D., knew she had it.

Oh well. It was impossible to hide now. She quickly put on the bright red beach dress that was just to be worn over the suit on the way down. When she left the bathroom, she discovered Clint had already changed into a charcoal gray sleeveless athletic shirt and gray swim trunks with dull crimson designs. He turned when he heard her close the bathroom door. Natasha had to stop herself from laughing. His sunglasses were the same style as the Blues Brother's glasses.

"What's with the glasses?" she inquired.

"These are my 'on break' shades. But don't worry, if aliens or robbers attack us, I can still shoot. They have mirrors," he said, sounding like a kid with a new toy. She rolled her eyes, and grabbed a complimentary bottle of sunblock.

"Come on, you dork."

…...

At the pool, Natasha was slow to remove her sundress. There where a fair number of guys out, as well as girls, and she knew a lot of eyes were being directed at them, the newcomers. She also glanced at Clint, who was currently squinting at the sunblock, which was the spray kind. He looked skeptical.

She was hesitant around him. She knew for a fact he found her attractive, and she found him good looking as well. When they had first become partners they had made that clear to each other. They understood one another. They both acknowledged that the other was good looking, but nothing more. Strictly professional. Yet despite this, Natasha found herself recalling a conversation with Pepper while shopping...

"_Come on, even if you guys are strictly platonic, it's so much fun to make yourself look sexy and tease them! Or better yet, mess with other guys who see you, and then see you with him!"_

"_I don't know Pepper..."_

"_Don't kid yourself, I've seen the way he looks at you."_

"_Really." it was a statement more than a question. _

"_You two obviously have a history. I don't know what it is, but you're a fool if you let this relationship go stagnant."_

…_..._

_Oh damn it all. _Natasha stood and let let the sundress fall to the ground. She could feel the eyes of others inspecting her toned body. Ignoring them, but wanting to show of just a bit, she strutted over to Clint.By now he had removed his shirt, and a few girls in bikinis were eyeballing him.

"Spray sunblock isn't that confusing, Clint."

…...

He heard Natasha say something about sunblock, and he turned to the sound of her voice. He started at the sight of her. And go figure, the music in the background had just turned to _Back in Black_ by AC/DC. It was like a scene out of a bad movie. But still.

Natasha was looking drop dead gorgeous in a very revealing black bikini with little red things on it. _The Black Widow, indeed, _he mused.

"Do you need help?" she asked him, pointing at the sunblock.

"Oh...Um..Yeah kinda," he was fumbling over his words. She had always had this affect on him. Natasha proceeded to spray him down with the sunblock, and then handed it back to him.

"Will you get me?" He nodded dumbly. Sometimes he hated being male. He started spraying Natasha with the sunscreen, and he stopped for a moment when he saw her back. Natasha Romanoff, a S.H.I.E.L.D. special agent, ex-Russian spy and assassin, aka the Avenger Black Widow, who had been his partner for a few years now, had a tattoo. And he had never known about it. Partners knew everything there was to know about each other. They knew that they found each other attractive, for one. But he had never known of this.

"When did you get the tattoo?" he asked, coating it with spray. She jumped at the sudden cold of the lotion.

"Before we met." And with that, she waltzed over to the deep side of the pool, climbed onto a highrise jumping board, and dived perfectly into the water. Clint just laughed.

…...

_Moscow, Russia. Uuuuhhh. And why? Because S.H.I.E.L.D. was annoyed at some Soviet extreme group's little pet killing certain people with knowledge that they wanted. She was called the Black Widow. But she was going freelance now._

_Agent Clint "Hawkeye" Baton had been sent to take out the threat. Her next target was supposed to be some scientist with data on some serum to either cure cancer or the common cold, for all he cared. _

_He had been observing her for a month now. She still hadn't realized she was being watched. Hawkeye had learned a lot by watching her when she thought she was completely alone._

_For one, she could kick ass. And she was a serious looker. But he had seen her alone, and seen how she looked at the stars...the same way he did when alone. And then he saw her dance. She had put on a flowing dress, and played Russian ballet music by Stravinsky, and the way she danced...with such grace and effortless skill, she was like a delicate angel. And he saw the single tear roll down her cheek after she had finished. It made him want to reach out to her, to comfort this kindred spirit, for that is what she had to be. An assassin with some terrible past, that no one knew. And completely alone.  
_

_He knew then that he wouldn't be able to kill her. After all, he needed a partner.  
_

…_..._

**Gahhhh I had to end it there. It's around 10:30 and I have to wake up at 5:45 for school. I would have gone longer, but I'm really tired and I had to give you guys an update, sooo**

**BOOP! **


	4. Fun With Fangirls

**I have decided to call the internet the webernet from now on. And I'm really hoping that our school band goes to watch Avengers , for 2 reasons. It would be extremely fun and funny to watch Avengers with around 68 other nerdy teenagers, and I just want to watch it again. If we did go see it, I would write a fic called "Band Geek Critique" and would be a written parody with little bits of commentary from whatever happened in the theater. My fingers are crossed.**

**A white matrix picks a date then faaade...VEGAS 2012!**

…**...**

"Em, excuse me?" Clint turned to the source of the voice; he was just about to walk over to the pool. The speaker was one of two bombshell girls with a magazine, which was covered in the Avengers. He blanched slightly, hoping very, _very _much that they didn't recognize them. He rather liked having his identity, unlike Stark.

The girl who had spoken, tan with light chestnut hair, held out the magazine.

"Excuse, we couldn't help but notice, you look exactly like the archer Avenger." Her companion, who looked like she was of Asian decent with her black hair and paler skin, waited expectantly.

"Oh Hawkeye? Yeah I get that a lot. Pfft, I'm not a superhero, I can't fight worth beans," he lied, hoping they bought it. The black haired one gave him a look. She obviously wasn't pure Asian, he noticed, since her round green eyes were drilling into him.

"No good at fighting? Then what's with those scars and bruises? Not to mention the tan lines on your arms," she folded her pale arms across her chest, looking smug. Clint instinctively looked at his arms. His bracers had left tan lines. _Oh no..._

"Look, just because I happen to look like him and am into archery, that does not mean I'm Hawkeye. Believe me, ever since the Avengers saved the world, people come up to me all the time. I'm like a celebrity look-alike." This was getting to be dangerous...

…...

Natasha was thoroughly enjoying her swim. The water was perfect and refreshing. She hadn't felt this relaxed in too long...

"Hey baby what's your sign?" She stopped swimming on her back, not quite believing she had just heard such an ancient pick-up line used. A well built dark-haired man stood in the waist deep water, grinning at her.

"One not compatible with yours. Besides, the Zodiac is all off because of precession, which is the planet shifting on its axis, causing the zodiac constellations to come across the sky in different months than everybody's used to."

"Um, okay. What are you, an astronomer?"

"No. I just pay attention."

"Then you should pay attention to this. You, me, dinner, tonight."

"And why..." she trailed off as her eyes fell on Clint. He was being cornered by to girls with a magazine, and it looked like the water was getting hot.

"Pardon me, I have something to attend to.." She left him there, aware of him watching her, as she went over to the closest ladder. Pulling herself out, she quickly got a towel that was waiting for guests on a table in order to hide her tattoo. She did not need anything connecting her to Black Widow at the moment. Wearing the towel on her shoulders so that her back was covered but still revealed her entire front, she called up her inner actor and sauntered over to Clint. She might as well have fun with this, this was her vacation.

…...

Clint hoped to God he wasn't starting to sweat. That would give him dead away. The two girls were starting to raise their voices, hoping to draw a crowd to their find.

"We won't tell anyone if.." the brown haired one gave him a sultry look. Clint gulped, and then stopped breathing for a moment. Natasha was coming over like she owned the place, wearing a towel like some sort of regal cloak. And he knew that look on her face. She wore it when she went undercover...

"Cleent, are yoo going to ewer geet een za vater? Eet es quite nice, da." He almost melted. Natasha was using a Russian accent! The two girls turned sharply, and their reaction was almost comical. Natasha came over and hung on his arm.

"Who are zese girls? Are I not..sateesfying to yoo?" _Woah she's laying it on thick. Time to fight fire with fire._

"Oh no, Tasha. You know you're the only one for me," he finished this statement by sliding his arm around her and letting his hand rest very low on her back. She pinched him slightly with the hand she had on his arm, but smiled at him sweetly for show. "These girls just confused my for Hawkeye. Can you believe it happened again?"

"Vat? People zought zat _again?_ Zat ees za fourth time zis veek!" she exclaimed, quickly catching on. "are yoo sure they didn't just vant yoo?" she asked, letting her voice go to a low purr. He noticed how close their faces were...when she planted a light kiss on his lips. As she pulled away from the teasing brush, he kissed back, harder than she had, but still not serious. Form the brief contact, he could sense her surprise, but she hid it well.

"Waaait a minute...aren't you Black Widow? You look like her...and the possibility that there are TWO Avenger look-alikes together is very unlikely..." the pale girl started to say. Natasha sighed, stopped leaning on Clint, and in her normal voice growled, "Look here you two. You will not speak of meeting Hawkeye OR the Black Widow to anyone. I guarantee the agency we work for will find out about it, and they do want so much to keep our identity a secret."

"Um, yeah, okay. That's cool."

"Uh...right. Thanks for saving the world and all..." They all but fled from Natasha's glare, which was then directed at Clint.

"Get a good feel, lover-boy?" He quickly removed his hand from her.

"No, not at all. But I still kiss last and manage to surprise you." With the new look she gave him, he all but ran to the pool, the next best thing to a cold shower.

…...

Later, under the cover of night, Clint was outside on their balcony, looking at the stars. He was dwelling on the whole Loki business again.

_If I'd been able to fight it...so many good people would be alive right now...like Coulson..AAGGHH! __I__ was the reason Loki escaped...and I could have killed Natasha, that is not what she needs, to be attacked by me...ME of all people to try to kill her..._

His thoughts where interrupted by Natasha coming out to join him.

"Hey, brought you something," she said, handing him a bag. He took it, and peered into the bag with curiosity. When he saw what it was, he grinned.

"How did you know that cornbread is my ultimate weakness?" he asked, taking a piece and taking a bite. She smiled, taking a muffin out of a second bag.

"I notice things. Like whenever there is cornbread available anywhere, you eat at least three pieces."

"Where did you get this? Room service?"

"I'm a special agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. I think I can sneak into a kitchen dressed as a baker and do some baking myself."

"You made these? It's really good, Tasha," he complimented. The cornbread did cheer him up, but he could still remember why he had come out. Natasha noticed his expression.

"You need to talk?" she asked, leaning on the railing next to him. He gazed up at the sky before answering.

"I remember everything..." he started, unsure on how to continue. This was the first time since waking up from banging his head they had seriously talked about it. Natasha put a hand on his arm.

"You can tell me Clint." It was what he needed to continue.

"Everything I did...the satisfaction in every destructive arrow. I _enjoyed _killing people, Nat."

"That was Loki. Not you."

"Then why did I specifically target you? I wanted to kill you, slowly and intimately." Natasha cringed at the words, they sounded like the ones Loki had used.

"He got in my head and made everything backwards...made me love things I hate, and made hurt things I love...Do you understand?" He placed a hand over hers, which was still on his arm. She let their fingers intertwine, letting him know she was there for him. He turned toward her, still holding her hand, and looking like he was close to his breaking point.

"I saw you dancing once, and ever since then I knew I could never harm you." She tensed a bit at this.

"You know about my dancing..?"

He took up her other hand, bringing both close to his mouth. "I saw you dance before we met, it was a around a week before I confronted you...I could not bring myself to kill you...so do you understand why it torments me to close my eyes and remember trying with every fiber of my being to kill you?"

Natasha didn't reply. She didn't say anything. She just let Clint rant.

"I even remember how I wanted to kill you. I don't know why, but I wanted to kill you slowly, pinning you to the wall..." he visibly shuddered. "It scares me that I could even come up with those things...I'm a monster."

…...

She could take this no longer. Clint was going to babble on, she could tell, so she placed her fingers on his lips to shush him. She then looked deep into his blue-gray eyes.

"And how do you think I feel, you big fool?" she inquired, her voice threatening to give away the emotion she was holding back. "When I first saw you under Loki, I thought I was watching a re-animated corpse." Even know, she could vividly remember the eerie ice blue of Clint's possessed eyes.

"But Clint," she said, getting closer to his face, trying to add more emphasis to her words, "_none of that was you. _It was _Loki. He _put all of those twisted things into your head, by twisting your very beliefs.

"We're both scared. You're afraid to harm me, and I'm afraid I'm going to lose my only friend in this world to some sort of messed up darkness. WE are the only ones who can help each other, so fight it. Fight it, Clint Baron, shoot a flaming arrow right at those memories dragging you down. And think of dancing whenever you remember."

Natasha was extremely aware of how close they where. During her mini-monolog, she had trailed her fingers down to his chest, his hands still on hers, and she could feel him shiver at her touch. His breathing was the only thing she could hear.

"I will never leave you...thank you..Natasha.." he left her hands on his chest, and placed his arms around her in a protective hug. "Whenever we see a bad memory, we will be there, won't we?" his voice was just low murmur. Her eyes were still locked with his.

"Da.." she breathed, answering yes in her rarely used native tongue. They were so close, she could feel his breath, was sure he could feel hers, and her mind was reeling. Under her fingers she could feel his heart racing. Closer, closer...

***Knock knoc**k* "Room Service!"

They both froze, eyes bugging out. Clint groaned, and planted his face on Natasha's shoulder. She laughed.

"I guess the rest of dinner is here."

…...

**HeeHeeHee...I LOVE being evil! **

**In case anybody was wondering, I am basing parts of backstory off of comics, but with my own twist. **

**And does anyone have any suggestions on a random villain I could PERHAPS throw in here? Or maybe even other Avengers or hero ideas...I'm open!**

**BOOP!**


	5. Skype and Nightmares

**And hello once again audience...can I have a serious shout out to all my reviewers? You guys are awesome. Keep 'em coming. have a present...TITLE CHAPTERS!  
**

**Anyway, I'd just like to clarify, there is going to be stuff in the near future that is loosely based off comics, with my own personal flair added. Don't I treat you people?**

**And some random things I've wanted to know...**

**who here watches Doctor Who? Star Trek?**

**And who here marches any form of band, be it high school, college, or drum corp?**

**And this pairing is now Blackeye**

…**...**

Clint sat in the reclining armchair that was in their room with a blanket, pillow, and laptop. He had let Natasha have the bed, insisting he had slept in worse than an armchair. Natasha's heavier sounding breathing could be heard from the other side of the room where the bed was located, signaling that she was asleep.

Baron, however, wasn't tired yet. After what had happened on the balcony, his mind was jumbled in a confusion of thoughts and emotions.

He had always been attracted to Natasha. But over the years, had his attraction grown into something more meaningful? Natasha had said she didn't believe in love, and he thought he had accepted that philosophy as well...it had sounded good at the time. Clint had loved once, and it had ended badly, so he was reluctant to admit he loved again.

Bored and slightly curious, he typed "what is love?" into Google. Some of the things that popped up included a bible verse and various marriage counselor quotes. He clicked the bible one first.

"_Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away." _

_He pondered over this. Bible people claimed to be relationship experts, so this had to have some merit. He was defiantly patient with Natasha, and kind. They boasted to each other only jokingly, and he no reason to envy her...he clicked back to the other results._

_"____Love is putting the other before yourself."_

_"__Love is a chemical reaction within the brain."_

_"__You love someone when you would do anything for that person."_

_"__Even if it means letting them go, love is doing what is best for them."_

_"__You can not truly say you love someone unless you are willing to die for them. Willing to sacrifice your own life is the ultimate love."_

_The last one stuck with him, bugged him, even, because he knew he would die for her anytime. _

___That doesn't mean I'm in love with her, does it?_

_Clint was interrupted from his thinking by his phone buzzing, informing him he had a text._

_**TonyS: r u awake?**_

_**CB: yeah y?**_

_He had no idea why Stark wanted to talk to him._

_**TonyS: go on skype**_

_**CB: y?**_

_**TonyS: we wanna talk to u 8D ….and cuz Fury gave us something**_

_**CB: fine...give me a sec**_

_Clint sighed as he rolled out of the chair and walked into the closet. It was the only place he could think of that he could hold a web chat with Stark and not wake up Natasha. Besides, the thing was a huge walk in closet._

_Tony Stark's face filled the laptop screen when Clint opened Skype. _

_"Hey there Robin Hood! I didn't interrupt anything with Maid Marian, did I?" Clint just stared at Tony._

_"For one, Marian is English. And no, Natasha and I were not sleeping together."_

_"Dang it.." Screen Tony handed two bills to what looked like Steve and Bruce. _

_"Hey, glad to see the rest of the team participating," Clint said sarcastically._

_"____Have __you ever slept together?" Tony asked, ignoring him. Bruce popped his head in. "We bet on this too, but I won't say who bet on what." _

_"No we haven't." _

_"Never?" asked Tony._

_"Not once," Clint confirmed. Tony grumbled and handed over more money to the other Avengers._

_"Well in other news...we invented a pair of un-shredable pants for Bruce for when he Hulks out.." _

_"I thought you said Fury sent something."_

_"Yeah he did, and said you don't have to since we're all still on break. But there is apparently a guy who runs a number of illegal operations from under a circus front, and S.H.I.E.L.D. finally got their current whereabouts." Tony explained, reading off of something off screen. Clint started at the word 'circus.'_

_"Does this circus have a name?" he inquired. Tony checked. _

_"Yeaahhh...'Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders,' why?" Clint's blood ran cold. _

_"What does Fury want done?" he asked, his voice similar to when he vowed to put an arrow through Loki's skull._

_"He just wants the ringleaders captured, not killed, and anyone not in charge rescued. They seem to have unusual abilities and S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to recruit them or something. Pretty much, take them out."_

_"Understood and accepted."_

_…..._

_He was closing the closet door softly behind him when he heard it. A change in Natasha's breathing. He put the laptop down and went to investigate. What he found shocked him, to say the least._

___Well people can't hide their feelings when they sleep, I suppose...__ he mused. _

_Natasha was thrashing about in her sleep, even crying softly. Without hesitating Clint climbed into bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her and stroking her hair._

_"...LOKI you SON of...NO! I refuse!...compromised...him BACK!" she finished her ramblings with a string of curses in Russian._

_"Shhh..shhhh Tasha...I'm here Nat...shhh..." he rocked her back and forth. ____God, I did this to her..._

_She slowly calmed down, clinging to Clint for dear life. There was no way she was letting go, so he made himself comfortable. He was already dressed for bed, shirtless and with PJ pants covered in Mario heads. This was going to be interesting when she woke up..._

_…..._

_**Meh. This was short I think...(yoda speak? Wtfridge?)**_

_**but I want the circus planning and fighting to be its own chapter..sooooo yeah**_

_**for all you band children out there...get this.**_

_**Our field show for 2012 is based of **__**Great Expectations**__** by Charles Dickens. Weird, I know.**_

_**BOOP!**_


	6. Clowns and Circus Shows

**Oh audience, you make me giggle so...**

**so to clear up a few questions, YES I know who Tobuscus is. I love the guy and I am thoroughly convinced he is my long lost older brother.**

**YES! Doctor who is like, REALLY popular with my readers! Star Trek is kinda, meh, we like it, yeah, we really like it, whatever. I recommend my Doctor Who crossover series, The Untold Adventures. Look for it on my page.**

**I swear I don't know what happened last chapter with the italicized words...they were NOT there when I uploaded or checked it later. 0.o**

**And there is a surprising amount of band children out there...woot! I myself play the flute, and am learning trombone so I can join our jazz band...**

**Ask me questions! They make me laugh.**

…**...**

Natasha yawned and snuggled closer to...wait. Her eyes popped open and focused on what her cheek was pressed against...and then they widened.

She was sleeping on top of a shirtless Clint Barton. And she was hugging him.

Her mind fumbled to remember what had happened...she had gone to bed, and she had seen Clint exit the bathroom wearing what he was now and sit in the recliner...Then Natasha remembered her nightmare. She had had it before, and she always woke up in a sweat because of it, so why hadn't she woken up this time? She even felt well rested...

Natasha started to poke Clint and moved her head so her chin dug into his chest. "Clint, wake up," she hissed.

When his eyelids finally did flutter open, he yawned and stretched, and then started slightly when he saw Natasha peering up at him from his chest, glaring needles at him. She imagined that she probably looked like a cat who was getting ready to pounce on someone.

"Why are we in this position, Barton?" She still hadn't removed her arms, but it seemed correct to question him from where she was.

"I promise this isn't a failed remake of the Hangover, okay? I had just finished talking to Stark when I heard you. You were thrashing so much it looked like you were going to fall off the bed, and you were yelling things. I heard Loki's name..." he trailed off.

"I was having a bad dream. It happens."

"Well I tried to calm you down, which you did eventually, but not before you had me in a death grip. So I got comfortable and fell asleep. And now it's morning."

"So it is, yes. What did Stark want?"

"Well, if you want, we can go on a mission..."

…...

The Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders had set up a huge tent on the outside of the main strip, in order to set up a small carnival outside. Natasha and Clint were outside purchasing tickets for a later showing. After they had walked away from the ticket booth, she finally asked, "Okay, I'm expecting a whole bunch of evil clowns or something. What's the story with this place?"

"For one, once you join, it is very hard to get out. People who are like us, and even people with abilities like Steve, end up in here. Forced to be freaks. And once I remember something about human trafficking, and one time they kidnapped someone, they even take out people for clients. Oh, I almost forgot, don't mess with the clowns, they tend to be the thugs," he explained.

"How do you know so much?" she asked as they wandered the carnival in their disguises.

"I was part of it. Before S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I thought you said they didn't let people out."

"They don't. They think I'm dead."

…...

By the time the main show was about to begin, both agents had thoroughly scoped out the grounds and had the layout memorized. Acting like any other tourist couple, they cruised into the tent. No one thought to check Natasha's big purse or Clint's knapsack. Their gear was in their.

The show was actually very good. It started with the jumble of acts all parading around the arena, until a tall man with a curled mustache stepped into the spotlight. He was wearing a purple suit with a blue sash, and two scabbards where at his waist.

"Bonjour, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Carnival of Traveling Wonders! Tonight you shall see things that defy logic, death, and everything you know!" he continued for a bit longer, introducing himself as the Swordsman, and then, the first act.

Clowns tumbled in, having a funny routine that also included acts of strength. Clint and Natasha exchanged glances. The clowns where really strong.

There was a lady in a red leotard and cape, with a red wimple, who was some sort of magician. She made things "levitate" by surrounding them in an energy that came from her hands. Later, another acrobat came in, this one wearing a ridiculous outfit with glowing eyes, pointed ears, a long demon-looking tail, and blue skin. His acrobatic abilities made the previous ones look like child's play. His act was concluded by the red magic lady catching him in a box, closing it, and re-opening it only to reveal it empty. The spotlight then went up to show him waving from the top of the tent.

After all the magic, a man in blue and silver ran around in record time to wherever the Swordsman directed. He raced a horse and won.

Next was a lady who did tricks on horseback, followed by a woman who performed a tumbling act with tigers. Acrobats flew through the air, and monkeys joined the clowns for more comic relief. The acts just kept coming and coming. While they still acted like they were watching, the discreetly discussed the mission.

"So Fury wants us to save as many people as possible saved from this place. Anybody who obviously would never join, the true criminals, are to be taken out. Except for the two leaders, Swordsman and Trick Shot. Fury wants them to go to a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison."

"How are we supposed to tell if they are sincere when wanting to help?"

"Nat, I used to be in this circus. I will know."

"And now, ladies and gents, a truly stunning act that I'm sure will leave you speechless...May I present... The Mockingbird!" the Swordsman suddenly announced. Natasha noticed Clint blanch under his fake facial hair.

"Do you know her?" she asked as she watched this Mockingbird girl enter the arena. He just nodded. The woman was wearing a body suit similar to Natasha's, but this one was black and white in a pattern that resembled the plumage of a mockingbird. The sleeves only went to the elbows, and flared out a bit at the ends. She also wore a black mask complete with a small black cone over her nose so it looked like a beak.

She climbed up the the tightrope, where a maze of other ropes were now strewn about the upper part of the tent, crisscrossing in every which way. Candles, lit, had also been hung around the arena.

When music started, the Mockingbird was thrown a bo staff. Immediately, she ran onto the ropes, performing amazing acrobatics and balance as she whipped the staff around. Every time the staff rushed pass a candle, a flame went out. Natasha knew that Clint had a less-than perfect past with this woman, but she had to appreciate the obvious skill and precision she possessed. A fight between the Black Widow and the Mockingbird could be quite fierce.

Clint noticeably relaxed when the Mockingbird finished, but tensed right back up when the Swordsman announced the next act. Trick Shot.

Natasha understood at once. Trick Shot was an archer, and his skills rivaled Clint's. In fact, she recognized several techniques that Clint used, and even a few that looked more complicated.

"You defiantly know him," she told Clint. He nodded as Trick Shot proceeded to hit every target, even the one behind him.

His arrows were similar to Clint's. The tips where equipped with various different abilities, each one delighting the audience. He shot a grappling arrow up to pull himself up into the air. While still in mid-air, a clown threw three disks of some kind up into the air. Each one fell to the ground with an arrow through its center.

In a dry voice, Natasha asked, "So who taught who?"

"He taught me." Clint wasn't going to give up anything else, so Natasha just sat and waited patiently for the end of the show.

…...

Even after the show, it took awhile for all of the civilians to leave. The carnival ran well into 11 o'clock. It was around 10:50 when the ear buds they were wearing crackled to life for the first time.

_Hawkeye, Black Widow, report._ It was the voice of Agent Hill, who was serving as a temporary handler agent until they could find an appropriate replacement for Coulson. Clint whipped out his phone and acted like someone had called him.

"Hey Hill. Miss Black and I are at the carnival, getting ready to go."

_Confirmed, Hawkeye. The place is getting ready to close, so I suggest suiting up. We have backup ready if you should need it._

"Thanks, we're going." He didn't need to tell Natasha, she had heard it too. Together, they slipped around to the back side of the tent, hiding in the shadow of the tent, surrounded by crates.

Clint slipped out of the loose fitting pants he had been wearing, he already had his black uniform pants on underneath. He quickly pulled of the t-shirt he had been wearing and pulled his tight sleeveless out of his knapsack.

Natasha just stripped down to her black spandex and sports bra and quickly pulled on her cat-suit. They hid their clothes where no one would see them, and finished getting ready. Natasha filled the multiple holsters on her hips and legs with various guns, magazines, and knives as well as pulling on her boots, while Clint assembled the folded bow and strapped on his bracers. After he slung his quiver on his back and she slipped on her Widow Bites, they were ready to go.

"Well, Hawkeye, are you ready?"

"Whenever you are, Black Widow." They both grinned despite themselves. They only called each other by their call signs when they were on missions. But they quickly got back to business.

"Right, so we should get inside the tent and wait for the civilians to leave, and wait for everyone else to assemble in the tent. When I was here, Swordsman and Trick Shot usually held a meeting with everybody after a show. We should make our move when the ones who are just circus performers and nothing else leave the meeting. They're innocents. Anyone who stays after they leave Is our business."

"Got it," she replied, getting a knife out. She knelt by the tent and started to cut a big enough hole for them to fit through. Once in, she tacked it closed enough with pins from her utility belt to avoid suspicion.

The carnival had just ended, and the only lighted place inside the tent was in the arena. Hawkeye and the Black Widow split up at this point, each of them blending into the shadows.

Clint started to climb up the back of the seats, he needed to get to higher ground. He got as close to the arena as he dared, hiding in the shadow of the lights control tower.

"Widow, give me your position."

"Under the seating across where we came in. You?"

"I've made a nest under the control tower."

"Confirmed." He looked over at the area where she was, only to look back at the arena when he heard voices. He notched an arrow with a tranquilizer tip but didn't draw, he simply waited.

"So all in all, a good show tonight, ehh?" the sound traveled well, and he recognized the voice as Trick Shot's.

"Yes yes, a good profit. But better profits are coming in from our friends in Chicago if we go there next and help them out. Besides, we need to leave Vegas, I've been noticing more and more people dressed in black suits of some kind. Somebody knows we're here..." the second man was the Swordsman, and both men were in view now. The Swordsman had stopped talking because performers had started to come in. While Swordsman started a speech for how well everybody did, Clint contacted Natasha.

"Load up on S.H.I.E.L.D. tranquilizers first. The less fatalities, the better." She just clicked her com in an affirmative.

"Agent Hill?"

_Yes, Hawkeye?_

"Have your agents lead the first group of performers to safety when they leave the tent. That's all that they are, performers."

Acknowledged, Hawkeye. After Hill had finished speaking, the performers started to leave, since Swordsman had finished. The other group acted like they where using the other exit, but turned around as soon as the normal performers had left.

"Now down to business...People, as I said earlier, we are going to Chicago...you all know what that means..."

"I'm waiting for you to say when, Hawkeye." he heard Natasha's voice remind him through the bud.

"Take out the clowns on the edges first, then move in. On my mark.." He drew the bowstring to his ear, sighted down the shaft, and as he let go, said "Now Widow!"

Two clowns simultaneously crumpled to the ground, one with a dart in his neck, the other with an arrow in his back. Clowns began to fall everywhere, as Clint drew arrow after arrow and Natasha continued to shoot.

"Move in now!" Clint said, firing a grappling arrow like the one Trick Shot had used earlier. He swung into the arena and landed near an unconscious clown, even as Natasha came out of her hiding spot, guns blazing. He retrieved the arrow from the clown and changed its tip, he would need all the arrows he could.

In no time at all, he and Natasha were back to back, weapons ready, and staring down the now alert circus people.

"Swordsman and Trick Shot, you and whoever is loyal to you are under arrest by S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha barked, "surrender now or face the consequences."

"Well what do we have here?" Swordsman walked over, looking them up and down. He noticed the red hourglass on Natasha's belt. "It looks like we have a Black Widow? Yes? And a very familiar face..."

"If it isn't my old pupil...I had a feeling you weren't dead when I heard about the archer with the group in New York last week, but I didn't think you would ever show your face here..."

Natasha and Clint could hear whispers coming from the remaining performers. Murmurs of "I thought he was dead?" "What is THAT guy doing here" "Is that Clint?" "Hawkman? No, it was Hawkeye" "There's no way he can still be alive" and "Wait, he was with Iron Man and the red white and blue guy?" wafted through the crowd. Clint finally spoke up, never relaxing his arm in the slightest.

"Hello old friends. And everybody else. Yeah it's me, Hawkeye, Trick Shot's pupil. Barney's brother. And this is not the end of the line, I got out, didn't I? And my life's great, I got to help save the world even. That's right, Black Widow and I are both Avengers, so S.H.I.E.L.D. will really like you if you decide to help us get these murdering douche bags and their loyal goons."

"Still quite the romantic, aren't we?" sneered Trick Shot, "no matter. Get to it, Barbara."

"Widow, LOOK OUT!" Clint yelled, alarmed. She looked up just in time to see none other than the Mockingbird drop out of nowhere and attack her with a staff.

Hawkeye tried to step in, but an arrow hissed in front of his nose.

"Un-uh-uh," chided Trick Shot, waging his finger at him, "don't be too hasty now, Baron. Don't you want to see how your brother's been doing?" A clown that had been in the middle of the crowd stepped forward. He was big, strong, and had half of his clown makeup wiped off.

"Hello little brother," he grinned in a very not nice manner, "did you miss me?"

…...

**HahaHAA! Evil cliffhanger of evilness! And how do you like what I have of my version of Mockingbird? And if anyone recognized a few familiar faces during the circus, well then kudos to you. And yes I know the one guy was never an avenger but he's like my favorite X man so I put him in anyway. Besides, he was raised in a German circus, so it totally works.**

**In other news, I got voted to be Captain of Star Trek Club next year! (yes, my school has a star trek club) and I got a sonic screwdriver for my birthday :3**

**BOOP!**


	7. Fast People, Magic, and Blue and Fuzzy

**And wow...audience...you make me blush...one of you said even said that I've got the best blackeye fic currently. I don't know about that, but I'll take any compliment I can get ;]**

**and my review checker thingy is being dumb because I can't find one about someone wanting to draw scenes from this? Whoever you were, PLEASE DO! I will love you forever, one-whose-name-i-can-not-find-at-this-moment.**

**And yep. Some of you guys guessed right with Mr. Blue and Fuzzy, but come on? NO ONE guessed Speedy Gonzales or Miss Red Wimple? -Scoffs**- **and you call yourselves Marvel fans...go figure, by the time I post this, someone will say who it is**

…**...**

Natasha was evenly matched. Mockingbird was fast, and having acrobat skill helped too. And she could really use that stick. Barely dodging a blow, the Black Widow double back flipped away, managing to kick her opponent in the chin as she did. Mockingbird growled, her golden hair streaming behind her as she pressed a button on her bo staff. The staff seemed to break apart, becoming a chain of staff blocks.

Natasha rolled to avoid the whip of wood, adjusting the voltage setting on her Bites so they would paralyze and not kill. As Mockingbird pulled her weapon back for another blow, Natasha moved in, sending a round-house kick into the blond's side. She received a punch in the nose for her efforts.

The next few moments were a furious exchange of martial arts, but mixed. While Natasha was a black belt in karate and judo, she recognized Mockingbird executing moves from wuushu and Tai-kwon-doh. The weird staff chain screamed wuushu, in fact. It was getting hard to concentrate, the punch Natasha had received earlier had caused a bloody nose. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Clint fighting a big clown.

_Oh my, that can't be good..._

…...

"Barney! What happened to you and Bobbi? You both hated this place!" Clint hollered as he avoided a large fist.

"We were all wrong, little brother. This circus is the best opportunity that we've ever had. You were a fool for trying to run away." Barney finished the statement by grabbing Clint in an unfriendly bear hug.

Clint scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face while wriggling out of his brother's grip. Then he saw the familiar blue face.

"KURT! I see you! Will you stand up to these monsters?" he yelled, now atop his brother trying to choke him out with his bow. The blue acrobat from earlier was in the front of the crowd, which was now staring at him. His tail flicked nervously, and his eyes shot back and forth between Clint and the circus masters.

…...

Natasha heard Clint call out to a performer, and she glanced the performers all looking at the blue man from the magic act. In the split second she glanced over, Mockingbird snapped her staff chain around Natasha's wrists.

"That was easy, for you being an Avenger," laughed Mockingbird, then she leaned closer to Natasha's ear, "I bet the only reason why you are one is because Clint likes you in bed. He's great, isn't he?"

A type of boiling of blood Natasha hadn't felt since her days when she still worked for Russia surged through her veins. The fact that this...this..showgirl.. had been with Clint in that fashion made something finally snap in her highly trained head. She stood up, still shackled to the staff chain, and glared down at the blond.

"Let me tell you a story, Mockingbird," she snarled, her voice loud with anger. The tent fell silent and even Clint and his brother paused to watch.

"Before I was an Avenger, I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Before that, I was an assassin for hire. And before that, I was Russian." Natasha discreetly checked on her Bites.

"Da, I vas Russian. Picked up as an orphan baby, raised by a secret USSR straggler group, and placed into the Black Widow Initiative. I was trained by ex-KGB agents, and I grew up in a military base with 12 other girls underground in Siberia. We were pitted against one another. I won. They all perished.

"I have the Communist Manifesto memorized. As the new Black Widow, I was trained as a master assassin and spy. And do you know what the first two things that I and those other 12 little Russian girls learned?"

There was no sound.

"One, never, ever, underestimate your enemy...and Mockingbird, do you know why Black Widows are so feared?"

"What are you up to?" the blond asked, tugging on the staff chain, bringing up Natasha's arms up and away from her body.

"Yoo see Mockingbord, ve Black Vidows are feared for our bite." Natasha pointed her fist at her and fired her Bite, hitting her square in the chest.

In the split second before pandemonium, she about-faced and shot her second bite at the clown that had been fighting Clint.

The performers exploded in confusion. Mockingbird and the clown fell to the ground, not paralyzed, but screeching in pain and clawing at their left ears, where the electricity seemed to gather. Alarmed, Natasha started to run towards her downed opponent. _That is NOT supposed to be happening..._

"That is ENOUGH!" a female voice rang out, and suddenly Natasha couldn't move. In fact, the whole crowd couldn't move. Everyone seemed to be frozen in a red energy. Natasha strained her eyes to see who had spoken.

The magician woman from earlier was floating, yes floating, over the crowd, the same red energy coming from her hands. Okay, no need for wires off-show, Clint did say people in this circus were...gifted.. Natasha mused.

The woman was text-book gorgeous. Her shapely torso was wearing a cherry red leotard that looked like something a play boy bunny would wear. Her legs were good enough to make even Steve Rogers blush, and she wore knee high red boots. A blood red cape billowed behind her, and raven black hair cascaded down her back. Walking underneath her was the fast runner in blue and silver, as well as the blue acrobat. Natasha realized now that his tail was real...

With all the authority of a queen, the red-clad woman moved her left hand up, and Mockingbird and the clown rose with it. She moved them away from the crowd.

"Pietro, can you tend to them? They could die..."

"Sure thing, sis," the silver haired runner ran to the clown first, and Natasha blinked. He had just ran waaaay faster than he had in the show. The clown and Mockingbird were still in her line of sight, and she watched this runner who seemed to be named Pietro kneel and remove something from behind the ears of both. The woman then released the energy surrounding both, but they remained unconscious.

"Now, why should we help you and this S.H.I.E.L.D. organization?" she asked Clint, allowing him to speak.

"I think the answer is obvious. But here is another reason. First, what's your name, real name?"

"...Wanda."

"Right, Wanda, and that guy's name was Pietro? And I already know Kurt. You both are mutants, aren't you? I know Kurt is. S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of the few places where you won't be discriminated. You can help people, and the world won't see you as a freak. Look at the Avengers, we have a giant green guy. And you'll be helping people, people will thank you, not hate you.

"And for all of you who aren't mutants, S.H.I.E.L.D. always needs agents with extreme skill sets. Not to mention a decent paycheck and great heath benefits..." He waited to see what the young woman would say. Finally, after a long pause, he added, "And come on, you're pondering over these goons?"

"Hmmm...What do you think, brother?" she asked the runner.

"I don't know...we've wanted out of the circus for a long time..."

"I think we should help Clint," spoke up the blue acrobat, in a light German accent. "I have been in this circus since I came to America when my German circus was taken over by them. Clint was like my big brother...If he got out, why can not we?"

Wanda was silent. Clint was just about to use his freed voice to call for backup when she spoke.

"I have made my decision. When I free you of my hex, stay calm. We all know who's loyal and who isn't, so no funny business."

…...

Natasha sighed with relief when she was freed from the red energy. She looked over at Clint to smile in victory, only to see an arrow closing fast on him...Trick Shot.

"CLINT! LOOK OUT!" she screamed. She was too far away, the arrow was too fast, there was no way he could ever dodge...

What happened next happened so quickly that she almost missed it.

Kurt _appeared_ out of _thin air_ next to Clint, and grabbed him around the waist. Then, a popping type of sound and a puff of smoke, and they_ disappeared_ from sight. Almost immediately after, both blue man and archer were next to Natasha. She thought she smelled sulfur. The arrow passed through the space were Clint had been, releasing a small explosion when it hit the ground.

"Whaaa...? Arrow...smoke...omygod you're furry...what just happened?" she babbled. Wanda quickly seized Trick Shot and Swordsman in her red energy. Clint enveloped Natasha in a comforting hug, peering down at Kurt as he did.

"You didn't used to be able to do that, Kurt," he stated. The blue young man shrugged.

"Puberty does weird things to you," he replied. Clint laughed, and called Agent Hill to send in the back up to help with arrests.

"Lets go back to vacation," he whispered to Natasha. She just nodded wearily.

…...

**So yeah, not much fluff. But it will get better from here...**

**I don't want this story to go on for too long, I've got people waiting for me me to finish off a Doctor Who/Star Trek TOS crossover...but I have so many ideas for Clint, Natasha, the rest of the Avengers, and these other Marvel peeps I brought in...AHHHHHH!**

**BOOP!**


	8. Shooting and Baths

**Whew...i had a VERY busy weekend, stranded without my laptop! And I was gonna use my dad's desktop...but then my cousin came over...and we started playing oblivion...I was amused by it after seeing someone play skyrim...i wouldn't shut up about comparing it to skyrim...so we went to gamestop and he traded in like 7 games in order to buy skyrim, and I bought fable 2 off of him, and then we zoned into watching him play skyrim...then my step mom started watching thor(we had just watched iron man 1 and 2 the day before) and I watched bits of it...then all three of us watched captain america immediately after thor...then I zonked into a fable 2 coma...and when I did get on the desktop...the webernet didn't work. **

**So now I type this, after WHEEEWW! 100+ reviews! That has never happened to me ever! Thank you all. **

**ps...if one more nit picky person comments on minor typos or grammar again, I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. **

…**...**

Everyone had their own ways of unwinding, and Clint's was painfully predictable, as Natasha put it. He would find the closest shooting range and use his bow.

So as soon as they had reached their room, Clint had changed into more comfortable attire and had bolted for the closest taxi, leaving Natasha to her own devices.

In the taxi, his phone blipped. He checked the text, which was from an unknown number.

**?: dude where r u clint? U left as soon as shield showed up..**

**CB: who is this?**

**?: kurt duh! Agent hill gave me your number**

Clint sighed and added Kurt's number to his contacts.

**CB: what did you want?**

**Kurt W: some scientist guy gave me a holo disguise thing so I can blend in, and I want u to rescue me from shield agents **

**CB:...again...WHY**

**Kurt W: cuz I dont want to answer questions now! I wanna hang with u**

**CB: fine. Where u at?**

…**...**

A few minutes later, Kurt was sitting next to Clint in the backseat of a cab. He was now dressed in civilian clothes, and appeared to NOT be blue and fuzzy, thanks to his new wrist watch. It was projecting a holographic image of normal skin, making Kurt appear peachy like any other.

"Considering there is a bow case, I'm guessing shooting?" Kurt asked. Clint nodded, and leaned toward the cabby.

"Take us to the closest shooting range, please," he leaned back, then asked Kurt, "did you learn anything that involved targets?"

"I learned how to throw daggers for show."

"That'll work. You are about to discover the joy of showing off superior skill in odd weaponry."

…...

Clint loved Vegas for a number of reasons. One was the fact that Vegas has nice indoor shooting ranges. The range they were at was no exception.

For one, it was huge. 30 shooters could be in there shooting at once. Currently there was about 15. A rental shop was attached so Clint was able to rent some arrows and daggers.

They both set up their targets at a modest distance and received odd looks for their choice in weapons, and started target practice. Nothing eventful happened for twenty minuets, until a man called out.

"Shooting contest at windows six and seven! No one can beat Kevin!" Curious, Clint and Kurt joined everyone else as they huddled toward the windows. A man, presumably Kevin, was standing and prepping a sniper rifle, with the first challenger did the same with another rifle. Two very small targets were set up at the end of the range, and both men took their shots. Kevin won. Clint watched, amused, and started to turn back when Kurt tugged on his arm.

"You are going to take him, right?" Kurt asked.

"I don't wanna draw attention,"

"Just stay and watch,"

"Fine."

They continued watching. There didn't seem to be many rules, shooters could use any rifle they wanted. Kevin won again and again. Finally, Kevin stood up from his shooting position and laughed.

"I win again! Nobody else?"

"My older brother can beat you!" Kurt called out. Clint blanched. Kevin turned.

"Oh? Who's you're brother?" The crowd parted to reveal Kurt and Clint. There was no hiding now.

"I'm his brother," Clint waved.

"Challenge accepted. Get up here." Clint sighed, and walked up next to Kevin and strung his bow.

"I have a new challenge for you though. Multiple targets, all moving. And we have to shoot them in under a minute." Clint was going to show off as much as he could. Kurt asked for it.

The targets were soon up, and Clint and Kevin both took their positions.

"Are you sure you want to use that thing? This doesn't seem fair.." Kevin said.

"Nope. It's not." Clint stepped back farther from the window. "there. Now it is." Kevin just gave him a strange look and took aim. Clint pulled back on the string, waiting for the guy with the stopwatch to say when.

"GO!"

Clint's mind went blank. The only thing that mattered was the targets. With blinding speed, Clint fired his arrows, and finished with time to spare. Kevin had also finished. The targets got brought up.

Kevin had hit all the targets, but arrows were in the exact center of all of Clint's.

"Good shot, man!" Clint's name and picture, complete with bow and arrows, got put on the wall, labeled "Current Champion."

…...

Natasha eased into the warm bath water, moaning. It had been way too long since she had done this.

While Clint had been leaving, she had gone to swim a few laps, just to rid herself of pent up energy after fighting. Now she was unwinding the rest of the way any other woman would; she was taking a ginormous bubble bath by candle light.

She was thinking about getting out when the doorknob turned. She held her breath and dove under the water, making sure she was hidden by bubbles. When the shadow of the intruder passed by, she sprung out of the water and tackled the intruder. There was a surprised yelp, water sloshing out of the tub, and bubbles everywhere.

Natasha found herself on top of...CLINT?

…...

**Yeah...i know. Shorter than usual. But what happens next needs its own chapter. **

**And I had to say this eventually...if you sneezed while reading this episode, BLESS YOU. PEACE OFF. BOOP! **


	9. What Happens in Vegas

**Well audience, I got some very amusing reviews, and to reward you, things are gonna happen! (thank your school's drama department)**

**also, if you want to hear some epic marching music, google "mark time emo the whale" **

**it's electronic, but it still sounds cool. The charles dickens show is on the same site**

…**...**

"CLINT! You never come back this soon after shooting!"

"Don't kill me don't kill me! YOU were supposed to be swimming!"

"WHO CARES? Now close your eyes!" It was actually quite comical, Natasha was covered in bubbles

and said bubbles had been transferred to Clint's hair. While he scrunched his eyes safely shut, Natasha peeled herself off of him and grabbed one of the fluffy bathrobes the hotel provided.

"Kay, you're safe," she said, sitting on the edge of the tub. He peeked one eye open, and then sat up.

"Soooo...?" he could feel the blush in his face as he asked. It was downright embarrassing to be tackled by your bubble covered partner and be caught unaware. He was a master assassin!

"I wasn't expecting you back so soon. You stay a few more hours, at least, when you go shooting,"

"Sorry, I thought you were still down at the pool. No, Kurt called me and wanted me to pick him up, SHIELD was wearing him out and he wanted a break, so he came shooting with me. I didn't want the kid out too late though, so I brought him back to Hill. There was no reason to go back to the range, so I just came back...it is crazy late."

"I believe that," Natasha started to dry her hair with a towel, "did Kurt tell you anything about the circus people? Or why my Bites had that effect on those two?"

"Yeah he did. The clown was my older brother, Barney, and the Mockingbird was my...she was my friend Bobbi. The three of were all really close."

"I'll say."

"What?"

"Mockingbird said you were great in bed." Clint's ears turned red.

"Oh god, is that what she said to tick you off?" Natasha glared.

"After she just assumed that we were sleeping together."

"Oh, Nat..." Clint shook his head, "Bobbi and I, that was a long time ago. But anyway, we were all planning to leave the circus and bring in authorities to bring them in. But they caught us. Trick Shot put an arrow through my chest." He took off his shirt and pointed to a scar on his chest. She had seen it before, but had thought nothing of it.

"Luckily for me, my heart is a few inches to the right of where it's supposed to be. They assumed me dead, and had their goons dump me somewhere. Barney tried to save her, for me, and instead of killing them, Swordsman put mind control buds on their ears. SHIELD already has been studying them, and has confirmed it's similar to the thing Loki used...on me..." he faltered then, remembering the brief feeling of the scepter on his chest.

Natasha stood, and took Clint's hand.

"Follow me. You need a drink." She dragged him out of the bathroom to the mini bar.

"Nat, it's like two in the morning."

"So?" she said, handing him a scotch, and then pouring herself some vodka. He smirked when he saw their drinks. Holding up his glass, he took a large gulp, and then in his best Scottish accent, said while pointing at her vodka, "Ahhh lassie, where I come from, that's soda pop."

She rolled her eyes and downed her drink. "Don't make me tell Stark you're a closet Trekkie there, Scotty."

He smiled into his drink, wishing he had a beer instead. It was these moments with Natasha he treasured, both of them just being themselves.

…...

As Natasha considered pouring herself another drink, she heard Clint speak up.

"You know why Bobbi thought we were together, right?"

"Enlighten me."

"Because we look like we are. Everybody thinks we are. Hell, the guys were making bets about our relationship status..."

"What are you getting at Clint?" She was sitting next to him, staring at him in a way that made anybody answer her immediately.

"We just...go together. We understand each other better than most married couples do..." he wasn't going to say anything else, so she started.

"I don't know why the fact that Mock...Bobbi, had slept with you so infuriating."

"Ahh Nat, did you feel protective over me? I know what Stark would say...L-O..."

"Shut it. Love is for children."

"As you often say. And I agreed with you. But seeing Bobbi tonight, it reminded me of the love I used to feel for her, and I think adults can love."

"Well if you love her so much, go and marry her."

"We could never get back together. I had girlfriends after her and I accepted that I probably wasn't going to see her ever again..." he paused, then breather, "I think I love you, Tasha." when she just stared blankly at him, he held up his hands in defense.

"Well I don't know what else to call it. I comfort you when you can't sleep, I worry when you get hurt, I worry that you will get hurt, I know you better than the back of my hand...but if this makes it weird, I won't bring it up..."

Natasha's thoughts were in a flurry. Here was Clint, saying he loved her... she did feel a connection to him, but wasn't that to be expected after saving each others lives a few times? But as she thought about it, something along the lines of envy had flooded her senses when Bobbi had said Clint was great.

"You know, I've thought about it." she finally said.

"About what?"

"About us having sex." she said bluntly.

If this phased Clint, he didn't let it show.

"I obviously didn't do anything about it...hmmf...what have you done to my thought process?"

He responded by leaning over her and kissing her lightly on the lips. Memories flooded Natasha, especially when she had first met Clint. When he had kissed back...That was the first moment he had surprised her...

"I guess we're children..." she gasped, and deepened the kiss. Then she grinned.

"You know, this was kinda inevitable." she mused.

"Tony can't find out, right?"

"What is it you native born Americans say? What happens in Vegas STAYS in Vegas?"

"Sounds right to me," Clint said as the fell onto the bed.

…...

**hope it doesn't sound too cheesy, don't worry I have more up my sleeve...**

**and those of you who can name the episode of star trek that quote was from, you are AWESOME**!

**BOOP!**


	10. It's Complicated

**I hate school. Especially so close to summer. Teachers throw so much crap at us, it's ridiculous. And since it takes me 30 minutes to get to my house to school, as soon as I get home, I do my homework, eat dinner, and then go sleep and wake wake up at 5:45 and start over. Uuugh. And it doesn't help when your parents think this site is demon spawn...**

**and now my response to your reviews...sorry, but despite what I may have said earlier, I will not be uping the rating. Sorry. If that's what you want, type in M to the rating thingy. And yes, there are many band children on fanfiction...we have our own category under Misc. for the love of pete!**

…**...**

Natasha woke up slowly, and only because sunlight was hitting her face. She yawned and stretched, wriggling her toes. She felt good, and it wasn't until she realized there was someone spooned up behind her that she remembered why.

She had slept with Clint. And it had been great. But the feeling of Ohmygod I SPLEPT with my PARTNER was starting to take effect.

Clint stirred when she did, and by the time she had turned to stare in disbelief, he was awake as well.

"Morning Tasha," he smiled, still looking sleepy. Despite herself, shivers went down her spine as Natasha remembered him whispering that nickname during their...activities last night.

"Oh Clint, did we?"

"Yeah."

"Stark can't know, none of them can know, it's against regulation..."

"I know."

"We shouldn't of...but who am I kidding? We both knew this was going to happen from the very beginning..."

"So why did we wait five years?"

"Has it really been that long?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know what's going on..."

"I think the status of "it's complicated" fits perfectly."

…...

That night they went to a dinner Tony had reserved for himself and Pepper. It was a black tie sort of place, and now there was a whole other aspect for them going. It was a date.

Clint was dressed in the dress code, but he refused to wear a typical tux unless required for a mission. Instead, his own taste was displayed in his choice of attire: black slacks, dress shoes, a white collared shirt, a black silk tie, and a black blazer that was dressier than an normal business one. He looked like a dressed up secret service agent.

Natasha was wearing a dress she had bought with Pepper. It wasn't the green one, but it still accomplished what she wanted. Which was to make Clint, and any other man, uncomfortable at dinner. It was a black dress, with no back or sleeves or straps of any kind. It hugged her form, showing off every curve, until just below the waist where it flared out in silky folds of knee-length fabric. If she were to twirl while dancing, it would show of a bit more of her legs.

Clint purposefully didn't look at Natasha the entire ride over. She grinned. It was already working.

…...

They had no idea what event they were at, probably some charity thing, but there was a lot of rich and powerful looking people there. From what they were able to gather, they ate dinner with a politician and his wife, an actress, a stylist from New York, an NBA player, and two casino owners.

"The battle was terrible! I wasn't there, I had a picky client in LA, thank god, but my studio is totaled!" the stylist, a bleach blond woman with lots of bangles on her wrist, was saying.

"I can't imagine what would have happened if those aliens didn't lose. I'm glad the Bronx wasn't too damaged. That's where I'm from," the NBA guy said. Natasha and Clint glanced at each other. When a conversation had started about what everybody's profession was, the stylist had started complaining about how the Hulk had smashed her business.

"Well, I'd rather have my place smashed than be ruled over by a crazy guy out of legend with his alien army," Clint said, trying to keep conversation going. Everyone seemed to remember they were there.

"Hey, you never said, so what do you do?" asked the politician, stealing a glance at Natasha.

"Well, I used to be in the special forces..."

"And I used to be a PA at Stark Enterprises..."

"Used to?" questioned one of the casino owners.

"We work for the government now." Clint said.

"Doing what?" asked the second owner.

"Oh you know, typical fed stuff. Solving cases, getting bad guys."

…...

Dinner had been interesting. Clint had fought to keep his cool with all the men staring at Natasha. Sure, their relationship status was "complicated" but he still felt possessive over her. And once they found out they were feds, the questions didn't stop. What branch? Do you have a gun? Have you ever shot someone? Questions like those.

Thankfully, it was done now and a sort of cocktail time had started. Everyone was milling about, being sociable.

"Clint, will you get me a vodka?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back."

...

When Clint was gone, she heard someone address her.

"So what was all that fancy star stuff?" Natasha turned to see the man from the pool.

"It's true. Precession is real, and the north star is no longer true north because of it. Astrologers are stupid if they don't know that the zodiac changes. In other words, I find your pick up line ineffective."

"Okay then, Miss Astronomy. How about I just get you a drink?"

"Who are you?" He looked surprised.

"Really? I'm Tom Sifild, from the TV show Area 51?"

"I don't watch much TV..." she started to say, when suddenly there was a glass in front of her.

"Your drink," said Clint. He was giving poor Tom a look that said "Back off bitch she's mine." Natasha took her vodka and waited for the drama to unfold.

"Ahh...who's this?" Tom asked.

"My friend." she replied, sipping her drink.

...

"I did not like the way he was looking at you..." grumbled Clint as Natasha led him away from a frightened looking Tom and onto the dance floor.

"Cool your jets. Oh listen, they're playing Chopin!"

"...Odd choice..."

"I like it." she stated as they gently swayed to the piano chords. When the music stopped, they started to leave the floor, when a more salsa-y tune. Her eyes twinkled up at Clint.

"Shall we?"

"Might as well."

…...

They stole the dance floor with an epic tango worthy of Dirty Dancing. It had started innocently enough, there were several other couples dancing. But they quickly established their place on the floor. Clint was finishing up the dance with dipping Natasha back. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, and while dipped down, she happened to look up, and she no one else other than Tony Stark.

When they finished their dance, people applauded politely, Stark clapping with more gusto then the rest. When they were integrated with a crowd again, he came over to them.

"Bravo! You guys were like James Bond and a Bond Girl! And people don't dance like that unless they're screwing..."

"We're not Stark," they said at the same time.

"Dang. Anyway, I'm here 'cause play times over. There's rumors of some terrorists with their attempt at super soldier serum in California, so we're assembling at my place in Malibu."

"That's fine and dandy, Stark. Now go away. We don't want people knowing we're with you." Tony left pretending to look hurt.

"Well we should pack.." Clint started.

"Thank God, this place is boring..."

…...

Back at the hotel room, a very frustrated Tony Stark as Iron Man was trying to peek into their room. All the curtains were drawn and he couldn't hear anything...he decided to use heat vision. Still nothing! They appeared to be somewhere else at the moment...maybe they had checked out already?

…...

"I'm glad you had the sense to pull the curtains. Stark's probably out there now," Natasha gasped quietly.

"And I'm glad you know how to block our heat signa...aaaaaahhhh Tasha!"

"Okay Clint, it's coming with us from Vegas, but it stays between us..."

"...Fine by me..."

Neither one of them had ever had to have such quiet sex, and they were finding it extremely frustrating.

_fin_

__**I'm DONE! don't worry, I'll make a sequel probably some time later this month. Thanks everyone, you've been great. I also have a wonderful idea for a Loki story...but I probably should finish my other one first...  
**


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